WAR IN UKRAINE: October 7, 2022
Ukrainian firefighters carry the body of a civilian killed after a strike in Zaporizhzhia on October 6, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff /AFP via Getty Images)
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 222
Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian civil rights campaigners have been named joint winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Jailed rights activist Ales Bialiatski was honoured for his work in Belarus; his wife said she was "overwhelmed with emotion.” Human rights organisations Memorial - in Russia - as well as Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties were also winners and have welcomed the news. Ukraine's CCL has monitored political persecutions and crimes against humanity in areas of the country occupied or annexed by Russia. They were praised by the Nobel Committee for their "outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power.” The choices have been greeted by Western leaders - but Belarus has hit out at the decisions, as has a Russian presidential adviser. The award is given annually to a person - or people - who have worked to benefit humankind - BBC
Ukraine's Centre for Civil Liberties has in recent months turned its attention to abuses committed by Russian forces, after spending the previous years documenting political persecution in Russian-annexed Crimea and crimes in areas of eastern Ukraine run by Russian-backed separatists. The centre's head, Oleksandra Matviychuk, said she was delighted they were sharing the prize with "our friends and partners at Memorial and Viasna".
Oddly, an official close to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the joint award (some believe the former TV comedian was quietly hoping to receive the prize).
Separately, the UN Human Rights Council has voted to appoint a special expert to monitor human rights in Russia
Ukraine’s military has destroyed over half of Iranian drones Russia sent to Ukraine. Ukraine took down 24 out of the 46 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones that Russia sent to Ukraine between Sept. 29 - Oct. 6, according to Ukraine's government - Kyiv Independent
EU leaders meeting at an informal summit in Prague on October 7 are set to look into ways to smooth over differences on how to tackle soaring energy prices as the 27-member bloc grapples with the fallout from Russia's war on Ukraine - RFE/RL
U.S. President Joe Biden has warned that the threat of the Kremlin using nuclear weapons was the highest in six decades.